Extending sewer service to a large subdivision proposed in southeastern McCall would reduce the need for existing McCall residents to fund millions in upgrades to the sewer system, according to the developer of the project.
On Wednesday, the Payette Lakes Recreational Water and Sewer District heard Donnelly developer Craig Groves’ request to annex 90 acres into the district for his proposed Pine Creek Ranch Subdivision near Payette Lakes Middle School.
The 90-acre parcel, known as the Stockton 90, makes up more than half of Pine Creek Ranch, which, as proposed, would build up to 634 units on 158 acres. A second 68-acre parcel on which the subdivision would be built is already within the sewer district, making it eligible for sewer service.
The district board heard annexation pitches and asked questions of Groves and his consultants on Wednesday, but continued a public hearing on the request to its Oct. 15 meeting.
Written public comments, of which more than 200 were submitted to the district as of Thursday, will continue being accepted online and at the district’s office until Oct. 1.
The board may decide to deny Groves’ annexation request outright, or approve it with a list of conditions that Groves must first meet. The board’s decision must be based only on the merits of adding the 90 acres to the district.
District Manager Jeff Bateman recommended denying Groves’ annexation request in a Sept. 3 letter to the board, citing a need to prioritize $55 million in improvements needed across the existing system, as outlined in a master plan completed by the district earlier this year.
“Adding a development of this size to a system that is already in jeopardy of being overwhelmed is not, in my opinion, good stewardship of the system or consistent with our duties,” Bateman said in the letter.
Developer touts $16M benefit
Meanwhile, Groves and a team of consultants told the board that annexing the Stockton 90 into the sewer district could raise nearly $16 million for the sewer district over 20 years, the projected buildout timeline for Pine Creek Ranch.
That would include about $8.2 million in one-time sewer connection fees, plus about $7 million in monthly user fees. The district would also net about $378,000 in new property taxes, according to the analysis, which Groves said was prepared by Launch Development Finance Advisors, a Scottsdale, Arizona, consulting firm.
Matthew Parks, a Boise attorney representing Groves, told the board that Pine Creek Ranch’s 634 homes at buildout would be less than a third of the 2,013 new sewer connections the district expects over the next 20 years.
“The annexation is in line with the master plan on growth projections,” Parks said. “This is not going to be a huge impact on the district.”
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Sewer upgrades to reduce ratepayer burden
Annexation would also likely require Groves to fund more than $2 million in sewer system upgrades that are among the master plan projects referenced by Bateman.
The upgrades would be included in conditions of approval that Groves must first meet before the district would extend sewer service to the Stockton 90. A draft list of conditions was approved by the board earlier this year, as Valley Lookout reported.
Groves’ team framed the improvements and the additional revenue as a way for the district to fund master plan projects without increasing rates for existing McCall residents.
“You may not like growth, but it is a tool in your toolbox that can help address your infrastructure requirements so that your ratepayers don’t have to pay for it all,” said John Blom of HECO Engineers, a Boise engineering firm representing Groves.
Sewer district doubts extent of benefits
The district board, however, was skeptical of Groves’ financial analysis and said it overestimated benefits to the district.
“We see these revenues over 20 years, but the first thing that we would have to do as a board is go to the market and borrow money against these future connection fees in order to perform upgrades and maintenance today,” Director Brian Renstrom said.
“You’re presenting this is as, ‘well, look, here’s $8 million you can use,’” Renstrom said. “It’s not really $8 million you can use today.”
District officials also revealed that the $2 million in master plan projects that Groves must complete as a condition of annexation are not tied to the Stockton 90, but rather the 68-acre parcel that is already within the district.
That means that Groves would likely be required to fund that work for any development on the 68-acre parcel, regardless of whether the district annexes the Stockton 90.
“All the biggest projects that you keep bringing up as a benefit to the district are required if you develop the north parcel, not the south parcel,” said David Watkins of JUB Engineers, the sewer district’s contract engineering firm.
Land use hearings still to come
Groves’ bid to annex the Stockton 90 into the sewer district is among the first of many applications associated with Pine Creek Ranch.
The parcel also must be annexed into the City of McCall, which would be responsible for holding public hearings to review plans for Pine Creek Ranch. Groves presented updated concept plans to the McCall Area Planning and Zoning Commission in August, but has not submitted a formal application to the city.
Conceptual plans for Pine Creek Ranch call for 275 single-family homes, with up to 108 accessory dwelling units on the home sites. No short-term rentals would be allowed in the ADUs.
The subdivision would also have 163 townhomes and 60 smaller patio homes. Groves expects the units to average about three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms across the development.
Groves’ financial analysis estimates market values of the units starting at $275,000 for the ADUs and ranging to $925,000 for the single-family homes.
“It’s a workforce housing product,” he said. “It’s housing for all generations.”
